Valtteri Bottas

Finnish Formula 1 driver who tested the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale 00 prototype at Balocco in 2024 as a 33 Stradale customer and Club 33 member.

Born in Nastola, Finland, on 28 August 1989, Bottas started karting at six. He won the 2011 GP3 Series with ART Grand Prix, where he worked with Frédéric Vasseur. Williams employed him as a test driver from 2010 and a reserve driver in 2012, then announced him alongside Pastor Maldonado for its 2013 race line-up. He collected nine podium finishes with Williams before moving to Mercedes in 2017.

Bottas took his first Grand Prix win at the 2017 Russian Grand Prix. In five seasons alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, he took all ten of his Formula 1 wins and all twenty pole positions. He was runner-up in the 2019 and 2020 drivers’ championships, winning four races in 2019. Mercedes won the constructors’ title in every season that partnership ran, while Hamilton won four drivers’ titles.

Alfa Romeo signed Bottas on a multi-year deal for 2022 after Kimi Räikkönen announced he would retire. Bottas raced for the Hinwil team through its final season as Kick Sauber in 2024, when he scored no points. Mercedes reappointed him as reserve driver for 2025. Cadillac signed Bottas and Sergio Pérez on 26 August 2025 for its 2026 entry; Bottas is racing for Cadillac in 2026.

In autumn 2024, Bottas—an owner of a Giulia GTAm and a 33 Stradale customer—tested the 00 prototype at Alfa Romeo’s Balocco Proving Ground. The manufacturer said its engineers used the session to gather feedback for final tuning, including balance, braking and handling. Alfa Romeo also said he had participated in many decision-making stages since the project began; it did not identify those decisions.